


It Started As A Nightmare

by FictionalDragonMother



Category: Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Arcee Needs To Chill, Big Bro Bumblebee, But Some Of Them Get Redeemed, Cody Burn's Power Of Impossible Friendships, Dad Optimus Prime, Decepticons Are Horrible, Everyone Needs To Calm Down, I Make Them Suffer, Jk They Have A Good Reason To Panic, Like Seriously This Kid Could End The War, Poor kids, Protective Autobots, So The War Is Still Going On, Takes Place One Year Before Rescue Bots Was Supposed To Happen, and some don't, dad ratchet, everyone is stressed, some headcanons, watch out kiddos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-03-17 03:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13650192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionalDragonMother/pseuds/FictionalDragonMother
Summary: It started as a nightmare.That's all anyone thought it was. Just a nightmare. With how many times Cody had brushed shoulders with death, nightmares were to be expected. Turns out, it was more than a nightmare. Turns out, it was a warning.Too bad nobody heeded it.





	1. The First Nightmare

Cody blinked, awakening for some unknown reason. He sat up, glancing around. He was in a circular clearing. Tall pine trees rose far above his head, casting dark shadows onto the ground. The moon was directly above his head, yet it was so covered in clouds that only a few beams of faint moonlight could shine through. The forest itself was pitch black, shadows so dense that it was like staring into the void. There was almost no noise, the only things Cody could hear being his own heartbeat slowly increasing, his breathing, and something moving in the shadows... slithering, sliding over pine needles with the faintest, quietist crunch, but Cody still heard it. He couldn't run, the noise was all around him, circling him, like a snake would do to a mouse. He felt as brave as mouse would right now. Suddenly, the noise stopped. The air was still, dead and cold. Something crunched behind him, but as soon as he turned around, a open maw with two poised fangs greeted him, enveloping the small boy in darkness.

Cody bolted upright, a quiet scream in his throat. That was nothing new. Whenever he had a nightmare, it was like the fear was still choking him even when he was awake. He breathed heavily, breath coming in gasps. What was that thing? He usually only had nightmares about things he had seen, and he was sure he had never seen that place before, nor anything like that monster. He grasped his stuffed lobster and turned towards the window, hoping for a calming summer breeze to blow by. But the air was cold, dead and still. He glanced up at the moon. It was almost completely covered in clouds, save for a few beams of moonlight that were shining down on the woods...

Cody hugged his lobster tighter, too afraid to go back to sleep.

 

 

Jack groaned, sitting up. Why was he awake? It wasn't like him to wake up randomly. He felt something shift beside him, and he made a surprised noise when he saw Miko and Raf waking up beside him. Miko yawned and stretched, kicking Jacks leg as she did. She opened her eyes and pulled her leg back when she felt her foot make contact.

"Woah! What are you guys doing in my dream? And where the heck are we?" she asked, standing up. Raf sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

"I don't think its just your dream, Miko. I think we're somehow sharing one." he said, looking around. 

Miko grinned excitedly. "Cool! This is just like in that weird webcomic i was reading. Home something. Although, i don't think the dream ended to well for the kids..." she trailed off, excited face becoming somewhat frightened when she really took in their surroundings. They were in a shadow cloaked canyon, pointed rocks jutting out from the sides. A full moon was above them, although it was shrouded in grey storm clouds, only small beams of light breaking through. The air was warm, but silent. No animals, people or vehicles. Just dead silence. A chill crawled up Jack's spine. Something was off here... 

The trio whipped around when a rock tumbled down and into the light. Miko chuckled nervously. 

"O-oh. It was just a rock. Heh heh.." 

_Scrrraaapppeeee ___

The sound of metal scraping against rock made their hearts drop into their stomachs. Slowly, all three kids looked up. Narrowed red eyes stared at them from the darkness like burning coals in a sea of inky black. A small moonbeam flickered out of the clouds for a brief moment, illuminating a sharp fang. Jack felt his body freeze, yet his brain was screaming at him to run. Before he could shake free himself from the paralysis, the creature lunged, jaw unhinged to a unnatural point. He didn't even have time to scream before it swallowed them, darkness covering him.

Jack bolted upright, a silent scream the only noise coming out. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest while his throat felt like it was being squeezed. Miko and Raf were experiencing much the same thing. Raf was clutching his heart, face scrunched up. He could see tears pricking at the corners of Miko's eyes as she struggled to get air into her lungs. Something beeped on the large monitor, and Ratchet's bright blue eyes opened, casting a faint glow onto the room. His gaze flickered over towards the children,which he could not see easily in the darkness.

"Children, are you alright? Your vital signs just spiked rapidly." he asked, voice quiet as to not wake the others.

No response.

The old medic frowned and got up, walking over to the children. He made a noise of shock when he saw he state they were in. He quickly ran a scan over them as he knelt to pick them up. Their adrenaline levels were spiked and their hearts were beating at highly accelerated rates. The muscles in their throats were very tight, as if their body were initiating a fight or flight response. He gently carried the small humans over to the medical bed, placing them down as their vitals slowly returned to normal. Soon, their breathing had regulated enough so that they could breathe. Jack looked up at the Autobot medic. 

"Sorry we woke you up Ratchet." he said in a strained voice, throat not fully relaxed yet. Ratchet shook his head.

"You did not wake me. The monitor sensed a rapid spike in your vitals and alerted me. Although i must ask, what made you so frightened?" he asked, looking through their medical history to see if a medical problem had caused it. 

Jack face flushed, embarrassed by the idea of confessing what had happened. 

"It... it was a nightmare. I don't know why it scared us so bad though." he admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Miko raised her hand, waving it. 

"I know why! That super freaky metal snake thing toyed with us, and then it ate us!" she said, shuddering.

Ratchet sighed. "You humans and your odd night hallucinations. There is no metal snake trying to eat you, i promise. Although it is odd that you three shared this experience. I'll look into it in the morning, for now, go back to sleep." he said, placing them onto the ground. 

The three humans returned to the main room, but instead of returning to their sleeping bags,(they had been staying over at the base.) the kids dragged them over closer to their partners, not quite comfortable enough to go back to sleep alone.


	2. Whats a nightmare?

Cody sighed tiredly as the morning sun rose above the horizon, casting a peach glow over Griffin Rock. The sky was slightly cloudy, the light from the sun making the clouds look like they had floated off an artist's canvass and into the real world. All in all it was a beautiful Saturday morning.

And normally, Cody would be out enjoying the warm rays of sun, probably alongside the bots. The bots were a group of aliens called Cybertronians that had become stranded on Griffin Rock. After meeting Cody and Chief Burns one day after saving them from a rock slide, they had decided to stay and help the Burns family keep their home safe, while also trying to contact the leader of the Autobots, which had been unsuccessful so far.

Each bot had found a partner in a member of his family. Heatwave, although he would never admit it, had formed a strong companionship with his eldest brother Kade. The two hot heads were constantly arguing, but when things got rough, the two always pulled through.

Chase and his father, Charlie, were one in the same. It was like they had come straight out of some cheesey buddy cop movie. Chase always enjoyed learning about the many laws of Griffin Rock, and was excellent at enforcing them. Both had a strong sense of justice and morality.

Boulder and Gram had the second smoothest relationship, next to Chase and the Chief. Boulder may be intimidating in size, but the truth was, he was just as, if not more, kind and curious about the world as Gram was. Nature and equations that Cody didn't even try to understand were what occupied most of their free time.

Getting Dani and Blades to work together had been difficult to say the least. One was a dare devil of sorts, and the other was an alien that transformed into a helicopter that also happened to be afraid of hights and speed. But eventually, they made it work, and became the duo rulers of the skies.

And then there was him,Cody. He was too young to be on the work force, but he still helped out by taking calls and monitoring rescues. Plus, he had a pretty strong friendship with all the bots, even Heatwave. He also had Frankie, his best friend. She and her father, the brilliant Doc Green, also knew Griffin Rock's best kept secret, that the Burns family rescue vehicles were actually sentient beings.

Rolling over, Cody slid out of bed. It was way to early for any sane 11 year old boy to be up, especially on a Saturday. But Cody knew that sleep would not come to him. It never did after a nightmare like that. Back when his mother was still alive, he would go to her, and she could make the worst of dreams dissipate. He still missed her a whole lot, and he knew he always would.

Getting dressed into some comfortable clothes and his signature jacket, he headed downstairs. He stretched and yawned, heading outside. Birds chirped in the nearby trees as Cody sat out on the porch. A warm spring breeze carried the faint and familiar scent of the sea. Resting his head on his knees, Cody just sat and watched the world wake up.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew his attention towards the bunker where the bots stayed. Deciding to go and say good morning, Cody wandered over.

Blades was standing upright, stretching. The orange bot yawned, a habit he had picked up from the humans he lived with. He hadn't noticed Cody yet, so the young boy decided to make his presence known, lest he frighten the skiddish bot and risk being kicked out of reflex.

"Morning Blades!" Cody chirped.

Blades jumped slightly, not expecting the youngest in the family to be awake yet.

"Oh, hi Cody! What are you doing ip this early?" Blades asked, setting his servo down so that Cody could climb on it.

Cody shrugged as he climbed onto the large palm. Blades lifted him up, cupping his servos to provide maximum protection for Cody.

"Couldn't sleep after i had a nightmare." He confessed.

Blades cocked his head.

"Nightmare? Whats that? Sounds scary." He asked innocently.

Cody stared at the bot. Did alien robots dream at all?

"Uh, it's sort of like a scary hallucination you have in your sleep. Your brain makes a scenario that scares you, usually something that you're afraid of, like the dark or falling from a tall place. Usually, you can't escape it until you wake up." He explained, watching as a look of horror dawned on Blades's face.

The bot scanned the small human, checking him over. His wings buzzed in concern and he made a sharp clicking noise Cody had never heard before. Cody laughed as the scanner zipped over him.

"It's okay Blades, this isn't the first time I've had a nightmare, and it won't be the last." He chuckled, rubbing his still tired eyes.

His words only seemed to make Blades more concerned. The helicopter whined and his orange optics dulled. Cody gave him a sympathetic smile and reached up his hands. Blades leaned down and pressed the bridge of his nose against Cody, who gave him a warm hug.

"Well that sounds terrifying, but I'm glad you're okay. Want to come into the bunker?" He asked, placing Cody on his shoulder.

Cody nodded and held onto a chink in Blades shoulder armor. The helicopter bot smiled and the two headed back inside, to get Cody some breakfast, and to also do some research on nightmares.

It was still early when Cody decided to go on a walk with Frankie. He packed up his bag with a bottle of water, some peanut butter sandwiches, a pencil and sharpener and his sketchbook. He said goodbye to his dad, who had woken up about half an hour after he had, and set out towards the forest.

Frankie was waiting for him by the forest trail's beginning. Around her neck hung a pair of binoculars, no doubt improved by her and her dad. Frankie wanted to observe some wildlife, while Cody wanted to draw some birds for Boulder. The green bot had mentioned wanting to find some pictures of a small bird only indigenous to Griffin Rock, so Cody had decided to go out and sketch one for Boulder to paint.

The two kids grinned at each other, and set out into the forest.

Later, they would come to wish they had just stayed home.


	3. Something's in the woods

Cody sat down on a rock, breathing out a tired breath. Frankie laughed and sat down next to him.

"Cody, how is it with all the running you do, you seem out of breath when we've only been walking for about half an hour?" She teased, poking his ribcage.

Cody swatted her hand away playfully. He wasn't out of breath, he was mearly slightly tired. He was slinging around a heavy backpack. Looking around, he spotted a small flock of birds resting in the branches above them. Cody grinned and patted Frankie's shoulder lightly, pointing upwards.

"Frankie! Frankie look!" He whispered excitedly.

Frankie looked up and grinned, reaching for her binoculars. Cody turned and grabbed his pencil and sketchbook, flipping to a fresh page.

The birds were a small type of jay, and were known to be very friendly. They were a violet colour, the tips of their wings fading into a periwinkle blue. They also had a small white crest of feathers. They were called Peacock Jays.

Cody began sketching the bird closest to him, when Frankie stopped him. She pulled out a zip lock bag filled with birdseed. She poured some into his non dominant hand.

He smiled and lifted his hand up. A bird almost imedatly flew down and began eating. Cody quickly began drawing it, taking advantage of the bird being so close. Frankie snapped a few pictures.

But then, something strange happened. The forest erupted with the distressed cries of animals. A doe bounded out of the brush, nearly hitting Cody and Frankie. The bird flew away as the two kids jumped back. Cody coughed as his back smacked against the rock beneath him.

Frankie scrambled up, grabbing Cody's arm. They stood there, staring at the forest. It had gone earily quiet. Then, Cody heard a noise, one that he would never forget. A slow, slithering noise, sliding across the forest floor. A sickening crunch accompanied it, like the sound of bones being crushed underneath something.

Cody sucked in a breath as a glowing red eye peered at him through the forest brush. It pierced his soul, filling him with paralyzing fear. He knew that he should be running for his life, but something forced him to stay there, frozen.

Luckily, that feeling hadn't taken over Frankie, and she grabbed Cody, screaming at him to run. Her scream snapped Cody out of his trance of fear. He wheeled around and booked it, not daring to look back. Whatever was behind them decided to give chase, crashing through the forest. It was only thanks to their good reflexes did Cody and Frankie escape being eaten by the gaping maw that appeared suddenly infront of them. Cody fell back, landing a few feet away from the mouth.

He could see it now, but oh, how he wished he hadn't. Sunlight reflected off it's metal scales, giving its whole body a terrifying silver glow. Its bottom jaw was a deep red, housing two pairs of deadly fangs. It turned towards Cody, and he could see a strange symbol welded to the top of it's head.

The snake creature was about to lunge at Cody, when Frankie lobbed a rock at it's eye. A cracking noise was heard as the rock bounced back. The creature howled and shot back into the forest.

Cody didn't move for a moment, just relishing the fact that he was still alive. Frankie ran over and pulled him up. He immediately hugged her.

"Thank you so much. I thought that i was going to be eaten!" He whispered, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as his body caught up on what had just happened.

Frankie hugged him back, and he could see tears in her eyes as well. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, running back towards the exit of the forest. Cody didn't protest.

Chief Burns relaxed against Chase's leather seats. The sun made the seats warm, and that was just fine to him. Far better than the bitter winter Griffen Rock was coming out of. They were heading back from a strangely uneventful patrol. Normally, the island and it's inhabitants were in need of constant assistance. But today, it had been quiet. A cat had been stuck up a tree, and a stop sign had blown over, but other than that all was peaceful.

They were just driving by the forest trail entrance when Cody and Frankie sprinted out like the devil was on their heels. Chase braked in front of the panicked children, letting his partner out before transforming.

Cody latched onto his father, his breathing irregular and his heartbeat erratic. Charlie rubbed circles on his son's back, trying to calm him down.

"Easy Cody! What happened?" He asked looking at Frankie, who he noticed was also freaked out.

"G-g-giant snake! T-tried to e-eat Cody!" She stammered, looking back as if she feared it would come out of the woods.

Charlie's brows furrowed. A giant snake? Most parents would brush it off as a child's imagination, but he knew that Frankie and Cody wouldn't make something like that up. Something had clearly terrified them, and on Griffen Rock you could never be too careful.

"Chief Burns, may i suggest taking the children home? Their heart rates are alarmingly high." Chase said, transforming back into his vehicle form.

Charlie nodded and opened the door, getting the shaken kids into their seats. Cody jumped a little when Chase placed the seat belt across his chest, but soon calmed as heat seeped through the seat and into his quivering body.


	4. Deception

Heatwave punched his servo out of anger. When he got his servos on that creppy con... 

Blades was scanning over a now annoyed Cody. Boulder was also doing some scans, although his were less intense and less frequent. 

Chase was, curiously, also angry. Although, unless you were good at reading body languages and fields, you probably wouldn't notice. The normally very calm bot wanted very much so to not act calm, to go out and hunt down the Decepticon hunting the humans he cared so deeply about. But he knew that he had to be the voice of reason, even if he didn't want to be.

A few days earlier~

Chase rolled into the bunker, opening his doors to allow his passengers out. His partner immediately took the children out and brought them upstairs. Chase transformed and headed for the control panel. Heatwave and Boulder were also there. Chase stopped, glancing around.

"Where's Blades?" He asked, noticing the helicopters absence.

Heatwave made a dissmisive gesture. "Off with Dani somewhere." He said, leaning against the wall.

Chase nodded and continued on. On the drive back, he had remembered the small camera located on Cody's jacket, in case the boy got lost somewhere, or, Primus forbid, kidnapped. He typed in the computers password and set to work accessing the most recent camera feed.

Heatwave wandered over, confused.

"Why are you looking into the CodyCam's feed?" He asked, his confusion only barely dripping into his voice.

Chase didn't answer at first, focusing on finding the file. When he did, he answered.

"Frankie reported her and Cody encountering some kind of oversized limbless reptile. Apparently, it tried to eat Cody." He replied, his voice monotone.

He wasn't too worried. The only kind of 'giant snake' he could find that was still alive today was a species called the anaconda. One must have escaped from somewhere, which they would have to look into. But he would check the feed anyways.

Clicking on the file, he saw Frankie pour some birdseed into Cody's hand, the bird come down and eat, and Cody drawing. Then, a deer came bounding out of the forest.   
Chase began to feel a sinking feeling in his spark. Boulder and Heatwave were both watching attentively. 

When the red eye appeared, Chase froze.

"No, it can't be." He whispered. Surely they couldn't be on Griffen Rock?

But as the feed went on, and the creature and the symbol on its head were fully revealed, Chase knew that one of his worst fears had come true.

Deceptions were on Griffen Rock.

Later, Blades had come back with Dani to a distressing scene. The bots were pacing around, clicking and chirping in a language Dani didn't understand nor did she want to hear, as it hurt her ears. She became truly concerned when a look of utter horror came across Blades's face. He told her that she should go upstairs and check on Cody. 

Confused, she went upstairs, only to see Doc Greene, her dad, and Cody and Frankie bundled up in blankets, being comforted by Graham and Kade while her dad talked with Doc Greene. Kade filled her in. Apparently, Cody and Frankie had been attacked by a Cybertronian snake that worked with an evil faction of bots. Dani had to sit down for a bit.

Down in the bunker, the bots were disscusing what to do about the Decepticon. None of them were comfortable with leaving Cody alone anymore, or their partners. Chase wanted to confine them to the base, Blades wanted to leave Griffin Rock altogether, Heatwave wanted to go and attack the snake head on, and Boulder just wanted everyone safe, no matter what method they chose.

After talking it over with their partners, they had settled on a buddy system. No human was to be without a bot, excluding when Cody and Frankie had to go to school. Chase insisted on extra patrols in that area.

And for a few days, everything seemed okay.

Until the snake attacked Chase.

It had been a calm day for the police cruiser, and he was on bis way back from picking up Cody. Chief was away with Graham, looking over the new pipeline plans, since the old ones were due to be replaced. Cody was happily drawing in the backseat, listening to some music that Chase had put on.

Chase felt relaxed. The sky was clear and the sun was warm. Cybertronians, they had found out, responded very positively to the Earth's sun. If they stayed out in it long enough, it gave them a boost of happiness and energy. It was also quiet relaxing.

So he was quite frightened when something rammed him off the road.

He could feel himself flip into the air, and he knew he only had a few seconds to transform. As quick as he could, he changed into his bipedal form. His pedes dug into the dirt beside the road as he held Cody against him. Chase barely had time to dodge before the snake came at him again. 

Jumping out of the way, he turned and placed the scared human in his servos into a tree. He turned back and flipped down his visor, snarling. Now Chase was not usually a violent bot. That was Heatwave's job. But when it came to Cody, his protective coding always flared up. Cody was like a Bean to them, barely even a Sparkling. So when a dangerous threat like a Decepticon attacked him in broad daylight while he was trying to get Cody home? It definitely set him off.

This time when the snake lunged, Chase was ready. He grabbed it by the jaws and threw it back. It smacked into a wall of rock. But it didn't even seem to feel the impact, as it was right back on Chase, trying to bite him.

The police bot punched it's bad eye, the one Frankie had thrown a rock at. The optic shattered under the force of his punch. The snake howled in pain, a spark stopping noise that had Chase stepping back. It glared at him, and Chase saw something flick up on its neck. Sharp, red spikes were quivering behind the snake's head.

Suddenly, the snake spun around. Spikes scratched and dented Chase's armour. He covered his face and spark chamber. When the spikes stopped, it took him a few extra seconds to get back up from his crouched position.

That was all the snake needed.

It lunged at the tree Cody was in, grabbing him by his hood. Cody, understandably, screamed. That caused Chase to snap. He was already stressed and hurt, that had just been the straw that broke the camel's back. He grabbed the snake by its neck and squeezed. The snake hissed and dropped Cody, who's hood got snagged on a broken branch.

Chase smashed the snake into the ground, putting all his strength into the attack. Metal bits flew everywhere, but still the snake fought. It wrapped it's long tail around Chase, trying to squeeze the bot. After a few moments of struggle, Chase had to get the snake off him. He grabbed it by it's tail and threw it up and into the forest. It crashed into a tree, and slithered away.

Chase scooped up a very shaken and scratched up Cody and zoomed away, slightly breaking the speed limit. He just wanted to get away.

Back to the present~

Cody winced as Graham finished wrapping his bandages. The snake's fangs had sliced right through his jacket and had sliced his skin open, deep enough that it bled but not so bad as to warrant a hospital trip.

Kade was pacing angrily, almost mirroring Heatwave's actions. Dani was on Blades's shoulder, calming him down, and his dad was beside him, letting Cody lean on him while he talked to Doc Greene about some kind of defense.

Cody sighed. What had he done that had angered the universe so much that it sent a giant angry snake after him? He didn't know, and frankly, he was too exhausted to think about it right now. He closed his eyes and driffted off into a restless slumber.


	5. Late night reassurance

Cody shivered as a cold wind blew over him. Pine needles rattled in the breeze, yet he could see no trees, only darkness. The pain in his back was replaced by an unshakable cold, itching feeling, like something was crawling beneath his skin. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as a slow crunching noise came from the blackness. The moon was less full now, winding back down into a crescent shape, but there was quite enough light that he should have been able to see something. 

The sound of metal scraping slowly against the ground was all around him, making the poor boy feel quite trapped, and all alone. The same fear that had paralyzed him during that horrible forest walk came back, making him stiffen. Cody swallowed hard, digging his nails into his palms. A cold sweat came over him as the sound got closer, but never increased its speed. No, this monster knew it had him trapped.

Cody was sure his heart stopped when a single red eye came into view, rising slowly as the snake came closer. What could only be described as a predatory smile crept up onto the monster’s face, showing off it’s deadly fangs, silver and sharp. Then, something happened, something that would haunt Cody for the rest of his days.

“Sssoon I will find you child. You can’t hide from me forever. I will never stop searching.” It hissed softly, before lunging forward and devouring Cody’s dream self.

Cody bolted upright, a silent scream caught in his throat. The wounds on his back flared up, a searing, constant pain that sent a ripple of what felt like fire through his body. He was in his bed, moonlight streaming in through his firmly shut and locked window. Tears dripped down and off his nose, plopping onto his covers. The snake’s words echoed in his mind, chilling him to the core. His throat felt like it was being squeezed, and he found that he could not breathe.

Trying to gasp in some air, Cody tried to calm himself, closing his eyes like he normally did, but when he did, he saw the face of the snake staring back at him. Cody’s eyes shot open and his throat tightened further. He clawed at his throat, panic beginning to creep in.

“Cody? Do you require assistance?”

Chase was now standing outside his window, unusually concerned optics peering in. Cody looked at him desperately, body quivering as tears welled in his terror filled eyes. Chase immediately unlocked the window and scooped the young boy up into his servo. He gently rubbed Cody’s back, humming softly. Cody gasped as his throat finally ceased constricting, allowing air to fill his lungs. He coughed into his elbow, tears dripping onto his arm. Once he was done, he turned to face Chase, a tired, grateful smile gracing his face. Chase looked concerned.

“Cody, what happened? Why were you unable to allow oxygen into your lungs?” He asked, tilting his head slightly.

Cody sniffed and lowered his head a little, slightly embarrassed to admit he had stopped breathing because of a nightmare. 

“Uh, I just had a scary dream, that’s all.” He said, forcing a fake smile.

Chase quirked an eyebrow, suspicious that Cody was not telling him everything. “About what, exactly?” He asked.

Cody let out a sigh. “About… that snake.” He admitted softly  
.  
Chase’s platting puffed out instinctively at the mention of the Decepticon still roaming around their home. He brought Cody close to his body to comfort the still quivering child. Cody leaned into Chase’s warm, rumbling chest, smooshing his cheek against the shiny metal. The gentle hum of Chase’s spark reminded Cody of an old police cruiser, comforting and familiar. He exhaled slowly, watching as a small cloud of his breath climbed higher and higher into the night sky.

Chase glanced down at the shaken boy, servos resting lightly over his back as to not injure him further. Cody didn’t deserve this, none of the humans did.

“Cody, I promise you, we will do everything to protect you and your family from that creature. It is not getting near you again.” He said in a soft, yet firm voice. Cody looked up at the bot and smiled, nodding gratefully.

But as he looked at the forest again, he began to wonder how true Chase’s statement was.


	6. Moonlit Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The snake reveals itself to our favorite orange and green rescuers, but they quickly find that this foe is one they are not prepared to fight. Also, what is Blades hiding about his past?

Blades peered into the forest, rotors quivering slightly. They were safe, they had all checked the uninhabited island over when they had arrived to go camping, and yet… he still felt on edge. The chief had insisted on taking him and the rest of his team with them on their annual family camping trip, and while Blades was honored to be considered family, he just couldn’t calm down. It felt like he was being watched. 

Turning back to the small campfire, he glanced over to where Cody was. Poor Cody. Decepticons still terrified him, so he couldn’t even imagine how scared Cody must have been when that monster had attacked him. Even thinking about that day forced him to remember how fragile humans were. No armour, no plating, no weapons, Primus, they didn’t even have adequate self-healing abilities!

He shut his optics. No. He wouldn’t let his mind wander down that dark path. Instead, he looked around the campsite again, fidgeting nervously. 

“Primus, Blades! Quit fidgeting!” Heatwave snapped in a loud whisper. 

“I can’t help it! It feels like something is watching us!” Blades whined, his rotors shaking as a chill crept up his back.

Heatwave huffed but didn’t say anything else. The firetruck’s golden optics flickered to the dark forest, his field reaching out to encompass the entire campsite in a secure, warm feeling. Blades purred softly, letting his field settle contently. He was so grateful for his team. He truly didn’t know what he would do without them.  
Suddenly, a quiet, nigh undetectable sound found his audial receptors. He stiffened. Out of the four, Blades had the best hearing, and it was this ability that allowed him to hear that tiny noise. His plates rattled as fear filled him. He should have listened to his gut. Something was definitely watching them. He heard it again. A soft scraping noise, like metal against sand. His head whipped towards the direction of the beach. 

“Blades? Are you okay?” Boulder asked, stepping closer to the frightened helicopter.

“…Wake everyone up. We need to leave immediately.” He said, form unmoving as he continued to stare into the darkness.

Chase and Boulder were shocked by the startling amount of pure terror and seriousness in Blade’s voice. However, Heatwave just snorted.

“Don’t be ridiculous Blades. We checked this island over from top to bottom. Twice. Nothing was here, save for the wildlife.” He argued.

“We didn’t find anything because we only checked the land! Have you considered that maybe it might have been hiding somewhere else?” He snapped suddenly, optics narrowed.

Heatwave growled and immediately opened his mouth to retort, before he realised that Blades was right. His optics widened, and he stiffened.

“Blades, Boulder, get everyone out of here. Chase, come with me. That thing isn’t leaving this island.” He snarled. 

Chase nodded and bolted into the woods, Heatwave right beside him. Blades and Boulder turned and began waking everyone up. Kade was difficult at first, sleep clouding his mind. But once he processed what was going on, he almost immediately had Cody in his arms, body tense in case he needed to run. The chief loaded the small pistol he kept on him, and Dani and Gram ran over to their partners. Boulder took Graham, a reluctant Kade, and the Chief, while Blades took Cody and Dani.

Just as Blades transformed into his alt mode, a dark mass struck him, sending him flying into a tree. His rotors painfully crashed against the rough bark, causing him to hiss in pain. He felt his spark sink when Dani and Cody screamed.

Boulder transformed back into his bipedal form, swiftly putting his human cargo into the branches of a tree. He dashed forward and punched the snake, attempting to draw its attention to him instead of the two shaking humans. The snake, however, seemed to have learned from last time, and did not take the bait. Instead, it grabbed Cody by the back of his pajama shirt, snatching him away from Dani. 

“CODY!” Dani screamed, jumping up into the air in an attempt to grab her little brother.

The snake hissed and swatted her with the tip of its tail. It wasn’t a strong smack, but it was enough to send the poor girl flying. The pilot crashed against the forest floor and didn’t get back up.

“KIDS!” Charlie shouted, leaping down from the tree, Kade and Graham right behind him. Boulder tried to stop them, but the snake took him down as well, attacking him while his back was turned, striking a very delicate spot near the base of his neck cables. The green mech’s optics off lined and he collapsed. 

“BOULDER!” Cody cried, sobbing.

Charlie aimed his gun at the creature’s bad eye and fired. It snarled in pain but refused to open its jaws. It spun and smacked the three humans away. Charlie landed with a thud on the forest floor, Graham ended up smacking into Boulder, and Kade crashed against a tree. All three were unconscious.

“DAD! KADE! GRAHAM! GET UP!” Cody shouted, tears sliding down his face freely.

The snake turned to leave, but was stopped when something sliced at its side. This time, it did open its jaws, howling in pain. Cody dropped, but was quickly caught by shaking servos. It was Blades! The normally meek bot was now livid, denta bared in an animalistic snarl. Long, sharp blades shone in the dim moonlight, melting seamlessly out of his wrists. Blue Energon dripped from one of them, dripping onto the soft grass. Blade’s optics burned bright, illuminating his scratched face. Cody felt a shiver run down his spine. This was NOT the Blade’s he knew.

Blades said something in what Cody guessed was Cybertronian, and the snake slunk back a little bit, before shaking its head and hissing. The snake circled Blades, slowly winding around the bot. Blades never broke eye contact with the Decepticon. As it circled, Cody saw something that made his blood chill. It was a small, black symbol that barley stood out on the snake’s dark grey scales, but it was there. The same symbol that had been on the nanites that had infected Trex, the shark sub, and the robot that had almost cost him and Frankie their lives.

It was the symbol of Doctor Thaddeus Morocco.

“Dr. Morocco helped make this thing?!” Cody cried, hands clutching his hair. 

Blade’s attention broke from the snake for only a brief second, but it was enough. He realized his mistake too late as the snake slammed into him a second time, closing its jaws around Cody. The boy’s scream was cut off as the creature swallowed, grinning as it did so.   
Blades screamed in anger, raising his arm to slice the Decepticon open, only to have the creature bite his arm and flung him to the side. The glass of his cockpit cover shattered as he was once again smashed against a tree. His optic flickered as he felt glass shards stab into the seams in his back plating. He attempted to get up, but swiftly found himself being squeezed. The snake wrapped itself farther around the helicopter, pressing the glass in farther. It only stopped when Blade’s optics finally dimmed and shut, the pain causing him to go into unconsciousness.

The snake smirked and uncoiled. It swiftly slithered through the forest, picking up speed when it heard heavy footsteps. The treacherous moonlight struck its scales, causing them to reflect its silver light. This caught the attention of the other two rescue bots. The one it had fought before froze, before growling and lunging at the snake. It dodged and leapt into the trees, quickly making its escape. One down, three to go. Next stop,

Jasper, Nevada.


End file.
